Well, it's been two days since my return from Italy and its about time I say a little something about my short jaunt. Caitlin and I visited our dear Pi Phi sister, Kristen Elmes, in Florence, Italy for four days. I'd already been to Florence before on the Academy senior class trip, but this visit was truly extraordinary. It was nice to saunter around the city, window shop at a leisurely pace, browse among the street vendors, and sit in trattorias for hours just talking. Not the go-go-go quick pace of tour groups, racing through museums & galleries where all the art blends together after so much. It was a pleasant experience overall with gellato, gnocchi, amazing pastas, fine leather, and lots of pictures.
One thing that really struck me was Kristen's passion for living in Tuscany, and how much she has grown to love everything about the culture and the city of Florence. Her unwillingness to leave the beauty of Florence, got me thinking about how I view Oxford. In retrospect, I have taken every moment of every day for granted. I go about my regular schedule, completing any errands or academic goals that lay before me without much consideration for how blessed I am to be here, experiencing this. Consider this my Thanksgiving day thought of gratefulness. I've now returned from beautiful Italy to embrace every single moment I spend in Oxford & England with a renewed thankfulness. I love taking my daily walk through my neighborhood to the City Center, visiting the Wednesday morning market with the occasional cry "2 for a pound!", frequenting the local pubs for a friendly pint with my mates, handing over my Bodleian library card with pride then walking through the restricted access doors of that ancient library...even the little things like walking gingerly over the cobbled parts of the street when I'm wearing good shoes. I've realized how much I enjoy every detail of my life here, so much that I would willingly do it all over again. In short, I don't want to leave, but responsibilities back home make that a necessity. My next best option? Oh, I don't know...graduate school for a Masters here in Oxford (both of my tutors have said I am doing graduate level work already & have high recommendations for me...yay!), maybe find a marketing job in London...all somewhat unrealistic dreams, but still worth pursuing because I love it so much. To conclude this thought, I am in LOVE with life here and I know that I will cry when I hop on that bus and take my last look at Oxford, January 3rd...Okay, no more sentimental thoughts; I still have a month left!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
All the Best,
Lindsay